Clarinet Day
MSU's Clarinet Day will be held Sunday, March 1, 2026, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Baird Music Hall.
Registration opens at 9:30 a.m.
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Click the link below to register for Clarinet Day!
Bring your clarinet to play in our MSU Clarinet Day Honor Choir.
Dr. Oskar Espina Ruiz has emerged as one of the leading clarinetists of his generation, praised as a concerto soloist at the Casals Festival for his “masterful virtuosity” (El Nuevo Día, Puerto Rico), and admired for his “rhapsodic ease” and “generous, tender warmth” (The Millbrook Independent) in chamber music collaborations with the top string quartets and piano trios of our time. He has performed at major concert halls and festivals to high critical acclaim, including recitals in New York City, Washington, DC, Moscow, Madrid, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. He has appeared as soloist with the St. Petersburg State Academic Symphony (Russia), St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic (Russia), Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra (Casals Festival, Puerto Rico), Orquesta Sinfónica de la Ciudad de Asunción (Paraguay) and Bilbao Symphony (Spain).
His 2025-2026 season opened with two concerts with the Grammy Award-winning Cuarteto Latinoamericano (Clarinet Quintets by Mozart and Gutiérrez Heras), followed by season performances with the Ulysses, Terra and Cassatt String Quartets, a recital with pianist Victoria Schwartzman, as well as chamber music concerts with UNCSA faculty colleagues. Highlights of the past two seasons include his Casals Festival debut as soloist with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra in the world premiere of Alfonso Fuentes’ Clarinet Concerto, and a Music Mountain performance of the complete Brahms Clarinet Sonatas with pianist Misha Dichter.
Since 2011, he has been a clarinet artist-faculty at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, NC.
Ruiz will give a masterclass, recital, and clinic session to all participants. Kyle Pyne of Pyne-Clarion will discuss Pyne mouthpieces and barrels. Pyne-Clarion and Willis Music will have equipment for you to try and purchase.
Contact Dr. Lori Baruth with questions at l.baruth@moreheadstate.edu.
Sponsors include D'Addario, Yamaha USA, Pyne-Clarion, Inc., Willis Music and Hurst Music.
This event is supported by the Buckner and Sally Hinkle Endowment for the Humanities and the Department of Music, Theater, and Dance.
